Pictures: All smiles as North Mon Primary School opens for new term  

North Monastery Primary School opened its doors for a new academic year yesterday morning, with a new ASD class opening at the school.

The Cork City primary school now hosts two ASD classes to meet the growing demand from students in the local community and beyond said vice principal Colin Daly.

“When we opened the first ASD class, I personally didn’t realise how much of a need there was within our own community and beyond,” he said. “As a school, we felt we had to meet the needs of the community by opening up a second ASD class.”

The Fairhill-based primary school also officially opened two new junior infant rooms to cater for the growing student numbers, said Mr Daly.

Thirty-four junior infants pupils started in the northside primary school this year.

“They are state-of-the-art,” said Mr Daly. “They were created for our newcomers this year. There was a massive amount of work carried out during the summer. We have great facilities. The department has really backed us in of new furniture, new interactive whiteboards, new sensory room, and we added in the astroturf last year.”

Mr Daly paid tribute to the strong community spirit within the local hinterland.

“It was a fantastic day,” he said. “There were lots of happy faces coming in. There were a couple of tears from the parents saying goodbye to the children.

“There are two classes of junior infants and two classes of senior infants this year, which is a fantastic response from the community.

“It was great to see the entire school community come together. There were grandparents, uncles, aunts, mothers, fathers, and cousins. The school tries to portray that ethos and embody that community spirit within itself, which is fantastic.”

The vice principal said the primary school is ‘booming’.

“We are so fortunate with the exceptional staff that we have,” he said.

“Everything is focused on the children. It is great that we can meet the needs of the community. The school is booming. There is a bright future ahead for the school.”